Descendants of the First by Reni K Amayo

Author:Reni K Amayo [Amayo, Reni K]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781916042971
Publisher: Onwe Press
Published: 2021-10-04T13:00:00+00:00

Naala’s eyes were wide and pleading as she stepped away from him in the palace of Nri, with the emerald crystal in her hand. At first he hadn’t understood what she had meant; the words had rushed out of her mouth but they hadn’t seemed to reach him.

She turned and, finally, he understood. She was leaving him. No! Why? They were so close. They had the crystal. They had won.

His heart hollowed as Naala sprinted down the palace halls. Go after her, his body sang, but before he could move, their guide, Okeke, pulled a daga out of his garments.

‘She’s leaving! The girl is leaving! She’s taken the crystal!’ he bellowed, forfeiting his disguise as he called out to the shadows.

‘No,’ Eni grunted, blocking Okeke as he sprang towards Naala with bloodthirst in his eyes. In that second, Naala had gone from friend to enemy. Out of the shadows more assailants thundered over him – each one hungry for blood they would never taste. His fists pounded on flesh as he dodged most, but not all, of their blows. Still, he felt no pain. How could he? If he let his guard down for a second, if he allowed himself to feel anything, he would stumble. They would get to her.

Naala. He turned his head to the end of the hall. She was nowhere in sight. Nothing was in sight. The darkness had come for him.

Eni woke up thrashing in the back of a dark cart. The weight of sleep almost suffocated him. He heaved against it. Where is she? His head was too heavy to lift, the right side squashing against his arm. Kora lay in front of him, her eyes closed, blood trickling down the side of her face. Tension released from his shoulders when he noted the rise and falls of her chest. Eni darted his eyes around the room. Madi’s large legs sprawled beside him. There were others here but … not her.

The cart bounced. They were moving. They were leaving the city. Eni tried to speak but it felt as though cotton filled his mouth.

‘Silence, boy!’ a voice hissed from behind him.

Eni used all of his strength to turn his body and his heart stopped. She really wasn’t here. They were leaving and she wasn’t here. He let out a cry, but it came out as a series of grunts stuck in his throat. He felt the strength return to his limbs and he began to fling them to and fro. He felt a heavy weight hold his arms steady.

‘Settle,’ a voice warned in his ear.

Eni kicked back and came crashing down. He delivered punches as hard as his numbed body could offer. Yet none of it mattered when he felt a sting at his neck and, again, the darkness came.

He woke up, slow and heavy. His mouth was still full of cotton. When he turned, he jolted at the pale woman standing over him. The Isi watched silently as he thrashed.

‘What is wrong with him?’ she asked Chukwudi, who stood by the door.

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